Learning in the new Millennium is a very different thing. Fortunately, the days of 'learning by rote' are long gone as we have learnt more about how the brain records the information it is given. Whilst the Education System has worked hard to try to modernise itself, it is still steeped in the 'old ways' of learning with rigid syllabuses and vast collections of text books given to students to read and digest.
Whilst books will continue to remain relevant, technology has enabled us to deliver information in a number of ways which engages us differently. The practise of consuming knowledge from vast chapters of printed words has been replaced, at least partially, by video content, audio content and fully interactive experiences.
Since the advent of the Internet, the way we are consuming information has drastically changed. Sales of magazines of all types both Business to Business and Consumer has fallen away sharply with both readership and print runs plummeting over the last 10 years. Advertising Revenues also have plummeted for these titles as Companies shift their marketing strategies towards online models.
Recruitment advertising which was the mainstay for most B2B publications has also dropped away since the advent of 'job-sites' and those looking for work will most likely be browsing these sites for vacancies rather than purchasing the current edition of their usual 'trade mag'. Within the industry there is a well established cry of 'Print is Dead' as all key publishers move their focus to paid online content and iPad Apps etc.
The shift to online has impacted the way 'copy' is written also. Gone are the detailed and lengthy articles of yester-year replaced by short snippets of articles presented on-screen with a link to the fuller work only if the reader wishes to delve a little deeper. Most people nowadays prefer a headline and an introductory paragraph before they decide if they wish to pause long enough to 'read more'. For the majority of us, our span of attention has reduced as we take just bite-sized chunks of relevant news articles. In the modern age, even our consumption of information has turned 'fast-food'. Eat small, Eat quick, eat often.
The move to video content also has had an impact on the printed word. Most people will prefer to watch a short 'YouTube' video than read a lengthy article these days and this is not reflected in our current teaching styles. In an attempt to modernise our Teaching practises, Governments have invested in the development of 'Virtual Learning' or 'VLE' however in it's infancy, there are concerns that the info presented in these environments still lacks relevance and the information contained within quickly falls 'behind the times'.
The lessons we are learning from the successes of platforms like YouTube and Vimeo is that short videos of no more than 3 minutes are best as this prevents the viewer from becoming disengaged and that textual based information should only serve as a secondary source for learning. Since the equipment to produce such content is now so affordable, producing this information can be cheaper than its printed counterpart. This encourages more content to be created more frequently thereby increasing its relevance as the pace of change increases.
The learning platforms of the future should then be video based not textbook based. They should be short bursts of information not hour long documentary type movies that that cause the viewer to 'nod off' towards the end. Couple with that, the ability to view your 'lessons' on multiple devices from any location at any hour of the day, only possible now with broadband access to the Internet everywhere and we are heading towards a 'new way of learning'.
Learn more about 'online learning'
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